I may or may not have said this previously, but it’s my firm belief that A24 is currently making the best films that cinema has to offer today. From Enemy, Under the Skin, and Locke to A Most Violent Year and While We’re Young, their films have been predominantly groundbreaking and masterful, and Ex Machina is just the next film from this relatively new studio that only serve as a testament to my claim.

The cast is quite small, but each actor makes valuable use of their presence onscreen and presents us with extremely rich and complex characters. Domnhall Gleason turns in a truly breakthrough performance as Caleb, the young coder who wins the chance to test the highly-advanced android Ava, played by Alicia Vikander. Unlike the similar Chappie, who adopts a very distinct personality early on in his own movie, the character of Ava has a far more mechanical and enigmatic mind to her, and Vikander captures every nuance and subtlety with such perfection. Not to be outdone, however, is Oscar Isaac as Ava’s creator, Nathan. Oscar has gone from being a whiny and near-sighted folk musician in Inside Llewyn Davis, then scored big points as the staunchly righteous and strict Abel Morales in A Most Violent Year, and here, he plays an eccentric and affable scientist, and yet it’s still impossible to see Oscar or any of his various roles in here, fully becoming the character of Nathan. He really is that spectacular.

Despite the very loose structure of Ex Machina’s story, I found that it still flowed so smoothly. From the interactions between characters, the intense developments of said characters, and the themes hidden throughout the narrative, there is so much goodness to this film that it’s impossible to take in everything and not feel intellectually hungry afterwards. There are no massively huge stakes to this film, but what it says about humanity and the way we view and interact with technology and how it’s said isn’t just brilliant, it’s practically essential. Writer/director Alex Garland saves himself from winding up in the same pitfalls that Neil Blomkamp succumbed to with Chappie and created a very contained and very focused story while polishing and tightening all the nuts and bolts that keep it together.

The vast majority of the film is set in the enclosed house and facility that Nathan owns, and it’s both gorgeous and frightening at the same time. Its design allows each scene to have the tone it needs, even as extreme as they are (a dance sequence between Nathan and his servant soon gives way to a particularly gut-wrenching moment involving Caleb in his bathroom). Nathan’s house ends up becoming a character itself, and it’s an essential part to the insane changes the characters go through and the sequence to the climax that will leave you completely floored.

Ex Machina is a brilliant sci-fi film and a truly necessary addition to the artificial-intelligence variant. Bolstered by smart, compelling characters which are bolstered by fantastic performances, along with a pitch-perfect design, it is a film that will easily fascinate and potentially enlighten viewers for generations to come. It’s a rare film that’s not just smart, it’s scary-smart, and it’s truly an absolute blast of an experience.

Final Verdict:

I made it my new year’s resolution this year to visit the more independent theaters in the city and watch some of the more independent and foreign-made features that those theaters would show (it’s certainly a lot more fun goal than dieting and/or exercising). When I heard about Clouds of Sils Maria and found it was playing in the theater, I knew it was a perfect opportunity to work at my goal. I’m so thankful that I did, because I would have otherwise missed out on this modern-day masterpiece.

Both Juliette Binoche and Chloe-Grace Moretz are wonderful, but who really takes the cake is Kirsten Stewart as Binoche’s personal assistant, Val. This is the caliber of performance that will have you forgiving her for every Twilight film that she was in; this movie proves that she can act, and she can act well. She has this warmth and maturity to her throughout that’s extremely magnetic, yet doesn’t feel tiresome. Academy, keep a close eye on her over the rest of the year, I implore you. Binoche and Stewart have pitch-perfect chemistry with one another and play off of each other as if they have truly known each other for years. Not to be outdone is Moretz, who has little physical presence in the film, but makes every scene that she’s in sparkle with wit and intelligence. This is each and every actor at the top of their game, and they’re taking no prisoners.

If you wanted to see Black Swan or Birdman without the artsy mindfuckery and screwball comic moments, then this will be a very pleasant experience. Much like those two films, Sils Maria deals with themes of aging and stardom, but it’s given a lot more nuance than the others. Maloja Snake, the play-within-the-film, much like Birdman’s Riggan Thompson’s What We Talk About When We Talk About Love is similarly a metaphor for the struggle the main character goes through, namely the seeming limitless privilege and glory of youth and the disposability and misery of the old. It’s reflected so clearly in the readings that Binoche’s Maria and Val engage in, and they offer some of the most emotionally resonant scenes of the entire film.

The film is also stunning to look at, taking place mostly in the remote Swiss countryside where the play is set, and it offers a ton of atmosphere and scope that not even Black Swan nor Birdman could accomplish. The Maloja Snake sequence is particularly beautiful and heartbreaking considering the scene that happens right before. The more urban settings and interiors offer something far more classical in appearance, but nonetheless mix perfectly within.

Clouds of Sils Maria is a rare kind of film that despite the heavy dialogue and unusual narrative structure, it still feels magical to experience, all thanks to the masterful performances of Juliette Binoche and Kirsten Stewart and the lush cinematography. The characters are rich with detail and the story is no different, and it really offers a very poignant and classy look at age and fame that most films wouldn’t dare to do. Easily the best film of the year so far.

Final Verdict:

After the first Avengers, we have received a decent third Iron Man movie, a fair-at-best Thor movie, a surprisingly great Captain America movie. After three long years, the gang is back together and ready to kick ass once again, but are they better than ever?

The characters we’ve come to know and love are just as fun and likeable as ever, and we have some brand new ones in the mix, namely Kick-Ass’s Aaron-Taylor Johnson as Pietro Maximov, aka Quicksilver, and Godzilla’s Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximov, aka Scarlet Witch. The two play off each other very well as brother and sister, and their designs are very smart, possessing youthful appearances that can look very hardened when the mood deems it necessary, and their performances help highlight this very well. In this new flick, we also introduce Ultron, played by The Blacklist’s James Spader. He serves as quite possibly a far better villain than Loki was in the first Avengers, having a greater deal and control of his (very intricate and cunning) master plan, and is also a far more interesting villain than Avenger’s Loki was (I feel as though his shameful bastard son angle worked far better in both Thor movies personally). He also does share a lot of Tony Stark’s personality, though Spader allows his own to shine through as well.

However, while the camaraderie and conflicts between characters (including and especially the new ones) has improved over the first, I feel as though the story is where it shows evident signs of detriment. Where the first one had amazing scenes showing each of the Avengers at odds with each other on cutthroat-levels, the internal struggles between these heroes feels far more forced here, being mentally eaten-at by Scarlet Witch through a series of eerie nightmares. It just feels too easy for the villains, where Loki in the first film admittedly had a very underhanded and clever way of turning the Avengers against each other by playing on their rationality through pure trickery. And where the first Avengers had a brisk pace throughout, I feel like some of Age of Ultron’s scenes that were meant for the audience to take a breather just feel sluggish. Sure, they have some clever jokes and back-and-forths here, but again, they aren’t nearly as dramatic nor enticing as the first.

But I’m sure what most of you care about is the action, right? Well, there’s plenty of it here, but I feel as though the scope has been reduced significantly since the first film. The opening begins immediately with the Avengers in action, and there’s a pretty cool fight between Iron Man and the Hulk (with some funny moments), and a neat chase in Seoul. They don’t really reach the absolute balls-to-the-wall levels of excitement, though, that is, until the final sequence, which is actually very inventive, very cool, and incredibly tense. There is also many great moments of humor, namely the entirety of the party scene, as well as a couple of great Hulk moments in the finale. Not as gut-busting as the first, however.

As much as I’m ragging on it though, Avengers: Age of Ultron is still a great time at the movies. It’s easily incomparable to the first, but it still has the characters we know and love, a slew of new and memorable characters, including the awesome villain, and a fantastic climax. I would highly recommend seeing this in 2D (unless the new Star Wars trailer is going to make it worthwhile), and the scene in the mid-credits is the only easter-egg you’re going to get. Just to save you any more possible disappointment.

Final Verdict:

By Sunday, I should have reviews for Little Boy, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, and Hot Pursuit.

Pray for me.

I'm going to be honest. I kinda hated Avengers 2. I thought that this movie was really poorly done. I thought that the dialogue was bad, the action was for the most part undecipherable, and the plot was just a nightmare. when the movie started, I honestly thought that I missed a reel or something. It starts off with an action scene when the avengers are assaulting Baron stuckers (or someone's) lair. when did they all get back together? Who is this guy stucker? I know that we saw him for 30 seconds at most at the end of Captain America 2, but that doesn't mean we know who this guy is. When did the Hulk and Black Widow start having this relationship? It's all jarring, usually these movies have a setup, you can tell when they start and why these things are happening, but in this movie I felt like shit was just happening for no real or explained reason, and you just had to nod your head and move on. the action is chaotic, poorly shot, very confusing to behold, and usually disengaging. there are a few subplots that go nowhere (what about Captain Americas acid trip? or Black Widows? what was up with Thor and the electrical pond?) Add in a few incredibly dumb moments (The train crash had me laughing hysterically at the movie, good thing the theater was mostly empty), and I felt like this was a giant misstep for the Marvel movies.